Ungaretti is often compared to Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi. Giacomo Leopardi: Poems Translated (1988) provides an intriguing look at the work of a man who was considered the greatest poet since Dante. His haunting poetry was inspired by his short, painful life as a lonely, frustrated, and sickly hunchback who died at age thirty-nine without ever fulfilling some of his most cherished dreams.

The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry (1997), edited by Jon Silkin, features the works of poet-soldiers from around the world, including Ungaretti, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Isaac Rosenberg. In the introduction, Silkin discusses the changing moods of the poets, from patriotism to anger, compassion, and genuine social consciousness.

Ungaretti's participation in World War I weighed heavily on the subjects and themes of his early poetry and his development of hermeticism. While countless books have been written...